Airbnb’s new offering is for the discerning traveller

Airbnb Plus offers a more hotel-like service with more upmarket accommodations and amenities

If you’re one of the Airbnb hold-outs, its new service, Airbnb Plus, may be the thing that makes you think again. It appeals to the more discerning traveller with stays that have been “verified for quality” and offer a more standardised style of service as well as hotel-like amenities.

Each Airbnb Plus home has been visited to ensure it adheres to the higher standards, ensuring guests will experience a stay that is comfortable, stylish and consistent. More than 100 boxes have to be ticked – such as art-adorned walls and a minimum 4.8- to five-star rating – to be considered a Plus property. It’s not enough that you have a stunning home, however: Airbnb hosts must apply and pay a fee – at which time an inspector and professional photographer will give the home a thorough going-over to consider its inclusion.

Having launched to coincide with Airbnb’s 10th anniversary, there are over 2,000 Plus listings in 13 cities, including Los Angeles, Barcelona, Milan, Shanghai, Cape Town and Sydney. The average listing will be around USD 200 (AED 735) per night, double the normal Airbnb listing. Listed with badges and placed in curated lists, the listings are easy to find and browse.

And if that’s still not enough for you, Airbnb soon plans to launch an even higher tier called Airbnb Beyond, which will include “custom-designed trips of a lifetime” at the world’s most exceptional homes.